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What I Know About Worship
Psalms 135
August 7, 2022

Tonight we study a Psalm that is often referred to as a MOSAIC.

That is because it is either the source of so many other Psalms
Or it is a conglomerate of so many others.

Nearly every verse of this Psalm can be found elsewhere in Scripture.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Verse 1, “Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O servants of the LORD,”

Psalms 113:1 “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.”

Verse 2, “You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God!”

Psalms 116:19 “In the courts of the LORD’S house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!”

Verse 5, “For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.”

Psalms 95:3 “For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods,”

Verse 6, “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”

Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

Verse 7, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

Jeremiah 10:13 “When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.”

I think you get the idea.
• Verse 8 is found in Psalms 136:10
• Verses 10-11 are found in Psalms 136:18-22
• Verse 14 is found in Deuteronomy 32:36
• Verses 15-18 are found in Psalms 115:4-8
• Verses 19-21 are found in Psalms 115:9-11

Our Psalmist has broken out into song
And it is a song inspired by his study of Scripture.

As our Psalmist studied the word it is clear that his thoughts
Kept returning to one continual truth: GOD MUST BE PRAISED

I’ve called the study of this Psalm: “What I Know About Worship”

That comes primarily from verse 5
“For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.”

The Psalmist says, “For I know…”
• This Psalm is his statement of faith.
• This Psalm is his declaration of truth.
• This Psalm is his song of theology.
• This Psalm is his dissertation.
• This Psalm is his thesis.

It is a song of scriptural passages meant to inspire the congregation
To join him in blessing God.

It is a song that calls us to worship and it is not short on reasons.
5 times in the Psalm we are given the reason we should worship God.

You see the word “for” given 5 times and each time it explains why God is worthy.
• (3) “for the LORD is good;”
• (3) “Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely”
• (4) “For the LORD has chosen Jacob…”
• (5) “For I know that the LORD is great…”
• (14) “For the LORD will judge His people…”

It is clearly a Psalm with one driving purpose.
It is to remind Israel that they are a people assembled for worship.

And what an important reminder to each of us.
The church can become easily distracted.
• We get sucked in to business related matters…
• We get preoccupied with ministry…
• We are burdened by logistics and budgets and buildings…
• We think of sermons and lessons and times of teaching…

And certainly all of those things have their place
And hold a certain amount of priority among God’s people.

But we should never forget that when we assemble,
We assemble for the purpose of worship.

John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Never let it stray from your mind that God seeks worshipers.

And this makes sense to us.
• After all we call what we are doing here a “Worship Service”
• This auditorium was built so God’s people would have a place to worship.

It would be a shame if the priority of worship was somehow forgotten.

Well, with a Bible in one hand and a harp in the other,
Our Psalmist is here to remind us again of the importance of worship.

Here we see 4 things I know about worship.
#1 GOD EXPECTS IT
Psalms 135:1-4

The Psalm begins as we said quoting from Psalms 113:1
“Praise the LORD!”

“Praise” is the word HAW-LAL in the Hebrew.
It’s where we get our word “hallelujah”
It can be defined as “praise” even “boast”

Here it is in the imperative.
• It is an adamant command.
• It condemns a stagnant spirit.
• It condemns a silent witness.
• It demands singing.
• It demands proclamation.

It commands God’s people to open their mouth
And boast about the greatness of their God.

And in case God’s people are at a loss as to what they are to boast about,
The Psalmist gets specific.

“Praise the name of the LORD;”

Why His “name”?
Because His “name” is the full aspect of who He is.

The attributes of God are tied up in His name.
To praise His name is to focus on His attributes.

So the Psalmist tells you to boast about God
And when you say, “like what?” He says:

• Well, how about His holiness?
• Or how about His mercy?
• How about His power or His grace or His justice?
• You could boast in His jealousy or His vengeance or His love
• You could boast about His omnipotence or omniscience
• You could boast about His creation or His providence or His faithfulness
• You could boast about His Son or His Spirit or His word or His plan

The point is that God’s people must consider who God is
And then boast about Him.

They must “Praise the name of the LORD”

WHO MUST?
“Praise Him, O servants of the LORD, You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God!”

It is those who have entered His courts.
It is those who have entered these doors.

It is certainly a regrettable thing that so many would skip worship altogether in favor of worldly attractions,

But equally regrettable is people who would enter the courts of the Lord
And then not participate in the praise.

“I’ll go, but I’m not about to boast about God”

This is a worship service and we have come here to worship.
And the Psalmist is RALLYING THE SAINTS to join him.

It’s as if he feels inadequate to worship alone.
• God deserves much more.
• He deserves a powerful choir!
• He deserves a mighty roar!
• If everyone would sing and if everyone would raise their voice and if we all joined together what a song we could raise to God!

What a boast we could proclaim if we all joined together.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE PSALMIST WANTS.

WHY?
(3) “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;”

There’s that simple word again.
• That word that is way overused in our lives.
• It is the word that describes creation before sin entered.
• It is the word that Jesus rebuked the Rich Young Ruler for applying to himself.
• It is a word which Paul said describes no man.

But it describes God to a “T”
He is “good”

He stands out, He stands above, He stands beyond.
THERE IS NONE LIKE HIM.

I watched a short video clip this week of a Paul Washer sermon in which he recounted preaching at a university and an atheist took issue with his assertion of the substitutionary atonement.

The young atheist asked How it is possible for 1 man over a course of a few hours to pay the sin debt of millions?

Washer replied, “I’m glad you asked. You meant it for evil, but God will use it for good. It is because that one Man is worth more than all others put together.”

The glory and perfection and worth of Jesus in the sight of God is so far above that of any other man that to punish Jesus for 3 hours is the equivalent of punishing every sinner who ever existed for all eternity in hell.

There was none good like Him.
There is none good like God.

Praise Him because He is so far superior to us in every way.
Praise Him because He is beyond compare.

HOW SHOULD I PRAISE HIM?
“Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.”

Have you ever wondered why singing is the method we use in the church?
• Why not some other form?
• Why not something that a little less flamboyant?

Oh, I know there are some who sing well and so it’s not a big deal to them,
But for the rest of us it can be a little humiliating to sing out loud.

• Why not just meditate?
• Why not just send grateful thoughts up to God?
• Why not just read the lyrics of the song and ponder them?

Why do we have to sing out our boasts about God?
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD TOLD US TO DO.

• If God had required cartwheels we’d be flipping down the aisle…
• If God had required baked goods we’d have 200 ovens…
• If God had required paintings the whole wall would be a canvas…

But God required singing.
He requires His people to stand and boast in song.
He requires people to sing of His lovely name.

In fact, GOD EXPECTS IT.
(4) “For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

You see there the glories of God’s sovereign and gracious ELECTION.

We are drawn to the message of Paul who reminded us:
Romans 9:10-13 “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

• There was nothing in Jacob that warranted his choosing…
• There was no intrinsic worth…
• There was certainly no record of good works…

God, according to His own sovereign prerogative chose Jacob.
Just as God, by His own sovereign prerogative chose you.

The million dollar question that is often asked and rarely considered is this.
WHY DID GOD CHOOSE ME?

And the answer is simple.
“for Himself…for His own possession”

He didn’t choose you for you, He chose you for Him.
And He chose you that you might worship Him for all eternity.

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

You were chosen…
You received mercy…
You became His people…
“so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

It would be a tragic mistake to be one of God’s elect
Who has totally missed the main purpose for your election.

Would you really be the one whom God rescues who refuses to sing?
Would you really be the one whom God chooses who refuses to boast?

You were chosen for this.

Do you remember what Jesus prayed for you the night before He was crucified?
Revelation 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

And when the church is finally with Him and finally sees His glory, do you know what they do?
Revelation 5:8-12 “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

We are the bride of Christ.
We were chosen by the Father as a gift to the Son.
That He might have an adoring bride for all eternity.

It is the expectation that we will be worshipers.
• God expects that as people of grace…
• As people who were chosen…
• As sinners who were pardoned…

That will gather together and in one accord raise our voices in song
To boast about His goodness.

God expects His people to worship Him.

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Anticipating Worship: Blessing The LORD
Psalms 134
July 24, 2022

Tonight we come to the final of these Psalms which carry the distinction “A Song of Ascents”

We have loved them because they remind us again of
The absolute privilege and blessing of worship.

As we picture these caravans
• Traveling to Jerusalem;
• Navigating the roadways;
• Enduring the weather;
• And all with the anticipation of beholding God in His temple.

We have been reminded that actually attending worship
With the congregation of the saints is a tremendous blessing.

We were not intended to simply worship God privately in the solitude of our homes

But rather we were intended to gather with one another and sing God’s praises in the great congregation.

Well TONIGHT we come to this 15th and final Psalm
In this unofficial hymn book of the eager worshipers.

• We clearly see that the first two verses deal with instruction given to the night
servants of the temple,
• And the final verse seems to be the response of these servants to those who
encouraged them.

Many commentators like to see this
As the parting farewell after the week of worship.

Namely that the caravans are leaving and on their way out they shout words of encouragement to the night servants stationed on the wall.

I DON’T THINK THAT’S CORRECT.
• It doesn’t make sense even in our day to depart for home at night,
• Much less for a traveling caravan to depart at the end of the day.
• Beyond that, this is “A Song of Ascents”, not a song of descent.
• This is a song sung for those traveling to Jerusalem, not away from it.

I THINK RATHER we should look upon this Psalm
As though the CARAVAN IS JUST ARRIVING; just before dark.

• They have journeyed all day and they are approaching the city late
• And as they enter they greet those who are stationed to serve at night
• And receive a greeting in return.

Indeed, in this study we have already discussed Psalms that anticipated arrival to the city.

Psalms 122:1-5 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” Our feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is compact together; To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD— An ordinance for Israel— To give thanks to the name of the LORD. For there thrones were set for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.”

This scene feels more like that than a departure.

As I pondered this Psalm I thought about this coming Friday.

We’re going to load up 20 teenagers and 5 adults in a small traveling caravan and head out to Glorieta, NM for camp REGEN.
• 950 other students will meet us there.
• Certainly there is excitement in hearing John MacArthur preach along with his
staff.
• Certainly the teenagers look forward to the games and activities.
• Certainly the sponsors are looking forward to cooler weather.
• But the real excitement is all that God might do in the lives of those who
are going.

And reading this Psalm it was sort of easy to put myself in the shoes of these travelers.

• When we turn in to Glorieta we will immediately be greeted by volunteer
servants who are working the camp.
• John MacArthur will not be one of them.
• Neither will Josh Petras or Austin Duncan or anyone from the band.
• It will be a group of people we don’t know. People who might be seen as
otherwise insignificant.
• But they are there for a purpose.
• At that moment, their job is to greet all the students who are arriving at camp
and encourage them with regard to the week ahead.
• And those who are tasked to do it are called to do it like they are greeting Jesus
Himself.

We’ll roll down the window. They’ll yell something like welcome! And we’ll yell something back, and that will be the extent of the discourse.

But both sides will be filled with the same anticipation.
We are here to worship the living God!

And we expect that an encounter such as this
Will have a profound effect upon our lives.

That is how I see this small Psalm here.
It is but a passing greeting.

Some are arriving, some are greeting,
And in this brief passing there is a tremendous encouragement
And one that sets our heart straight regarding worship.

We can break this Psalm down into 3 points tonight and learn a great deal about
THE PURPOSE AND BLESSING OF WORSHIP.

#1 THE PRIORITY OF WORSHIP
Psalms 134:1

“Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD, Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!”

It is clear to us that we are here dealing with those “who serve by night in the house of the LORD”

You may or may not have realized it,
But service of God in His temple never stopped.
It was a 24/7 endeavor.

David outlined that there would be shifts of servants whose job was to serve God while Jerusalem slept.

1 Chronicles 9:33 “Now these are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free from other service; for they were engaged in their work day and night.”

There singers are mentioned who served all night.
• And in their case, this was their one service.
• They had no other task but to sing the praises of God throughout the night.

You may remember:
Psalms 84:4 “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.”

• Others served all night for things like keeping the fires going or the candles trimmed.
• Others served as sort of a security to keep from vandalism or irreverent behavior.

But the point first is to note that the service to God never stopped.
It occurred around the clock.

Incidentally, this was but a foretaste of heaven.
Revelation 7:15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.”

We are now talking about those who take the night shift.
• Some things very practical and necessary as preparation for the next day
• Some things very spiritual and for no other reason than to worship God.

And when you think of these men
I want you to imagine their service for a moment.

We often use the analogy today that when we come to a worship service,
We have an “AUDIENCE OF ONE”.

That is to say that
• All that we do here is for no one else but God.
• He is our sole audience.
• He is the One we seek to please.

Now people say that, but honestly, that is hard to maintain such a focus.

When we sing, though we should not, we still think of how we sound to those around us.
When a special is sung or an instrument is played, it is near impossible to not give any thought to how it might sound to everyone else who is here.
When a sermon is preached, though the desire is to honor and please God, certainly thought is given to those who will hear it.

The point is that it is a neat sounding statement
To say we serve an audience of one,
But I’m not sure how true that always is in our practice.

BUT THESE PEOPLE…
These night servants…
That is absolutely who they served.
• They served during a shift when there was no congregation to benefit from
their service.
• These singers sang all night to an empty chapel.
• There would be no applause from the congregation when they finished.
• There would be no encouraging word after the service.

THEY SANG, AND THEY SANG FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE.

Those who did the practical labor did it without anyone seeing.
• Like a janitor who comes and cleans the church.
• No one notices their job unless it isn’t done.
• They work in anonymity.

So these people did.

Perhaps, if you wanted to, you could even see their service in a sort of METAPHORICAL sense for those who “serve in times of darkness.”

Like when Paul instructed Timothy
To be faithful “in season and out of season”.

You could see it as a reference to those who serve
In a climate where no one cares or appreciates it.

Men like Isaiah who was called to preach to deaf, blind, and spiritually dead people.
Men like Jeremiah who was told that they would war against him whenever he opened his mouth.
Men like Ezekiel whom God told they hear your words but have no interest in obeying them.

Throughout the ages there have been a host of
Ministers and singers and servants who performed their calling
With absolutely no human acknowledgment.

Those are the people we are talking about here.
It is those “Who serve by night in the house of the LORD”

BUT DESPITE THE FACT that no one would hear their songs…
DESPITE THE FACT that no one would witness their service…

They are here given a profound piece of encouragement
From the caravan as they enter.

“Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,”

“Behold” as in listen up! Pay attention! Get your mind right!

“bless the LORD”

You have been commissioned with one task.
(In all actuality this is the task of every worshiper every time they worship, but perhaps it is even more real to one who serves at night.)

• You are commissioned not to please men, but to please God.
• You are commissioned not to make men happy, but to make God happy.
• You are commissioned not to bless men, but to “bless the LORD”

We think of the admonition of Paul to the Colossians:
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

It is a most necessary mindset among the redeemed.
• Your job may not include stage lights or a microphone.
• Your job may not be acknowledged with salary or payment.
• Your job may not be recognized with fame or amazement.
• Your job may not even be seen during the hours of daylight.

At that moment remember:
It is the Lord that you serve.

It is the objective of the worshiper to please the Lord.

So you see the encouragement here
As the priority of worship is discussed.

Those who served at night had the sacred duty
Of blessing God throughout the night.

Could anything be more important in Israel while the nation slept than to make God happy through worship?

This was a vitally important task as all worship is.
And the caravan shouted up to those who served at night
TO DO IT WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT.

“Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD, Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!”

• Give Him the best songs He’s ever heard!
• Trim the lamps as though you serve the God of the universe!

And with this reminder we are forced to examine our motives in worship.

Our Sunday school class is currently in the book of Malachi.
It is a book that confronts apathy.

Hear God address the lazy priests:
Malachi 1:13-14 “You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD. “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

What a priest!
• He doesn’t care if the offering is suitable to God…
• He doesn’t care if the protocols are followed…
• He doesn’t care how the whole thing looks…

• I’m tired!
• This is boring!
• It’s too long!

And God rightly takes offense reminding that “I am a great King…and My name is feared among the nations.”

When we worship, do we consider such a thing?
• When we sing a song, do we care how we sing it?
• When we preach, does it matter if we have labored or studied or tried at all?
• Is any excuse acceptable as to why we didn’t feel the need to gather with the saints?

Oh, I know there are times when our ox is in a ditch
And it is not possible to gather with the saints.

But I think I am correct in stating that it is amazing
How many incidents in life have now come to be declared
Equal to an ox in a ditch.

When Jesus gave the analogy I didn’t realize he was talking about:
• Television shows being on…
• Sporting events taking place…
• Opportunities for more money to be made…
• Groceries to be bought or shopping to be done…

And I know the argument.
Well, I had to do it on Sunday because…

Because why?
It is more acceptable to neglect God than your boss or your kids.

What we are talking about here is PRIORITY IN WORSHIP.
• How important is worship?
• And how important is it that your worship actually pleases God?

Do you remember David’s cry?
Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

Paul reminded us about worship:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Should we go and read again all those Old Testament passages where God outlines how much He hates the worship of Israel?
• “bring your worthless offerings no longer”
• “who requires of you this trampling of My courts?”
• “I hate your appointed feasts”
• “If I were hungry I would not tell you”
• “Oh that someone would shut the gates that thy not needlessly kindle fire on My altar”

Over and over and over God announces that
He hates their heartless worship
Which is not meant to please Him in the least.

Isaiah 58:5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?”

We must understand that WORSHIP IS A PRIORITY.
• What could be more important than blessing God?
• What could be more important than making God happy?

Even if you are tasked with doing it when no one else will see.

It is such a fitting word of encouragement to these night servants.
• It is true O servant that we will never hear your songs…
• It is true O servant that we will never see your labor…
But do it well!
• Do it in a manner that pleases our God!

That is our encouragement to one another.
• You encourage me to preach worthy of the God of the universe,
• And I encourage you to listen worthy of the God of the universe.
• We encourage one another to sing as God deserves it!

Don’t bring what is lame or broken or withered to God.
“Study to show yourself approved,
a workman who does not need to be ashamed.”

Worship is priority.
We see that here.
#2 THE POSTURE OF WORSHIP
Psalms 134:2

Even as the caravans cry out to the night servants
To worship God in a manner that will bless Him.

It is quite obvious to all what that means.

“Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD”

The phrase “to the sanctuary”
Literally translates the word “holiness”

Obviously the translators of the NASB
Thought it to speak of the direction of worship.
• Namely that the holiness was a reference to God
• And therefore the calling is for you to focus on God in your worship.

There is certainly nothing wrong with that interpretation.
God is certainly the object of our worship.
Focusing on God is what we do.

However,
It is possible that David instead meant to “Lift up your hands in holiness”

Paul spoke of this to Timothy:
1 Timothy 2:8 “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”

The idea there would be that
We come to God with pure hearts and with clean hands.

James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.”

Perhaps this is what David had in mind.

Perhaps he is reminding those who serve
When no one is watching
That God is watching and holiness still matters.

AND I THINK THE EXHORTATION HERE IS FITTING.

Sometimes serving alone or at night or in the dark or in the shadows can produce for us the false assurance of anonymity.
• No one sees.
• No one will applaud, but no one will criticize either.

Those who serve at night would need the strongest character
For there would be NO ACCOUNTABILITY.

Who would know if the singers put their all into the songs?
Who would know if they cared to learn the words?
Who would know if they sang out or just mumbled?

ONLY GOD.

John Calvin commented on this text:
“Many of the Levites, through the tendency which there is in all men to abuse ceremonies, considered that nothing more was necessary than standing idly in the Temple, and thus overlooked the principal part of their duty. The Psalmist would show that merely to keep nightly watch over the Temple, kindle the lamps, and superintend the sacrifices, was of no importance, unless they served God spiritually, and referred all outward ceremonies to that which must be considered the main sacrifice – the celebration of God’s praises.”
(Spurgeon, Charles [The Treasury of David; Volume 3 – Part 2 – Psalm CXX to CL; Hendrickson Publishers; Peabody, MA] pg. 179)

Samuel Martin commented as well:
“Those priests renewed the altar fire, fed the lamps, and guarded the sacred structure from intrusion and from plunder. The Psalm before us was prepared for the priests who served the sacred place by night. They were in danger of slumbering; they were in danger of idle reverie…of vain thoughts, of useless meditation, and of profitless talk; and therefore it is written – “Behold the LORD”. Is it your duty to spend the night in watching? Then spend the nigh in worship. Do not let the time of watching be idle, wasted time; but when others are slumbering and sleeping, and you are necessarily watchful, sustain the praises of God’s house; let there be praise in Zion.”
(ibid. pg. 178)

You understand the danger they speak of.
Often times when human recognition is removed
The satisfaction of God doesn’t seem like enough to men.

They only want to worship if people are watching or if others will join.

This was the very worship that Jesus warned the hypocrites against.
• When you give, give in secret.
• When you pray, pray in your closet.
• When you fast, wash your face.

Matthew 6:18b “… and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

This is a tremendous reminder to us about the posture of worship.

David says “Lift up your hands”

I realize that in our culture this is almost always associated
With a charismatic worship preference.

But I think Biblically speaking it should be seen as a longing.
• Think of it as a toddler lifting his hands to his mother.
• There is a dependence here.
• There is a desire here.

And so both the DIRECTION and the PURITY matter.
• If a toddler wants his mother to pick him up he needs to lift his hands toward his mother.
• And it will help if his hands aren’t covered with ketchup or something worse.

And so the reminder here is that of devotion to God.

These night servants are encouraged to be wholly
And holy devoted to God and to bring Him their best.

You are serving God!
Serve Him well!

We think of Nadab and Abihu who had the audacity to offer strange fire to God of an incense concoction which God did not desire and fire from the altar came and consumed them.

We think of Moses being forbidden to enter the promised land for God said that he failed to treat God as holy before the people.

We think again of the warning of Malachi not only to the priests who were tired of the sacrifice, but also of the people who brought such a worthless offering.

Malachi 1:8-11 “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you. “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.”

It matters that we worship God
AND that we worship Him in a manner that pleases Him.

For us, these holy hands are a reference to
Our imputed righteousness in Christ.

No one can stand before God
Except if they are covered in the righteousness of Jesus.

We worship God through Him.
We lift up holy hands through Him.

To try to worship God in your own goodness is but a filthy rag and an offense.
• You can be like Cain and work hard and bring your vegetables to God,
• But all the while you must remember that those are fallen vegetables harvested from a cursed earth.
• You might as well dig in the dumpster behind the grocery story and find the thrown out produce and serve it.

It is that offensive to the God of the universe.

Take note of yourself and come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Approach Him and lift up holy hands.
Worship Him and worship Him as He desires and deserves to be treated.

That is the encouragement given to these night servants of the LORD.

The priority of worship and the posture of worship.
#3 THE PLEASURE OF WORSHIP
Psalms 134:3

Now the night watchmen respond.

Those servants at the gate, just greeted to serve God with all their heart
Now return a word to those who just greeted them.

“May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.”
• We know you have traveled far to get here.
• And we know that here you expect an encounter with God.

This was based upon God’s answer to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:12-16 “Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. “For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”

God agreed to meet His people here.
And based on that promise
These night watchmen return a blessing to the people.

“We hope that your time in Zion
Proves to be the blessing you have anticipated!”

There is a reminder that you have arrived to seek “He who made heaven and earth.”

• You are here to commune with the God of the universe!
• You are here to seek the favor of the God of all creation!
• He will meet you here!
• And may you be satisfied with His presence!

Psalms 84:1-4,10 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah…For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

In other words the time of worship is so worth it!

• We think of Zacchaeus who was so satisfied to follow Jesus that he gave up half his possessions.

• We think of the satisfaction of those 4 friends who tore a hole in the roof and lowered their friend down. What blessing when Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven”

• We think of the crowds who came to be healed or delivered and ended up hearing words of eternal life from Jesus.

We come to worship with the singular desire to bless God
And yet it is us who always ends up with the blessing.

Derek Kidner wrote:
“The word bless is perhaps the keynote of the Psalm, sounded as it is in each verse. So far, it has been directed Godward; now it returns from God to man. But the exchange is quite unequal: to bless God is to acknowledge gratefully what he is; but to bless man, God must make of him what he is not, and give him what he has not.”
(Kidner, Derek [Kidner Classic Commentaries; Psalms 73-150; InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, IL] pg. 490)

That is such a true statement.
• We attend worship to give God what He most certainly deserves and what we give is so much less than He deserves.

• And without fail God grants us in return that which we do not deserve and which far exceeds what we do not deserve.

That is the absolute pleasure of worship.

We come to bless God and in return He blesses us!
It is always worth it!

And this song concludes that unofficial hymnbook.
Reminding us of the priority of worship
And the posture we bring

And at the same time filling our hearts with anticipation that
Leaving our homes behind and traveling to worship will not disappoint.

Download Here:

Love One Another – Part 3
1 John 4:7-21 (19-21)
July 24, 2022

This morning we return one more time to this famous passage in 1 John where the famed apostle is driving home to us ONE OBVIOUS THEME.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

And to RECAP as we begin,
John’s reasoning for this command has been extremely compelling.

Love One Another because:
#1 ATONEMENT DESERVES IT
1 John 4:7-11

We noted the remarkable love of God that was shown to us.

(9-10) “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

We took careful note of what John said.
Namely that God’s love “was manifested in us”

That is to say that God’s love has become visible
By something that He has done in us.

What? “that we might live”
• God gave us life.
• New Life
• Eternal Life
• Abundant Life

The presence of this life is the manifestation of God’s love on our behalf.
• When we were dead, He made us alive.
• When we were in sin, He raised us up.
• When we were doomed, He adopted us as sons.

We did not deserve this love, nor did we initiate it.
God freely and sovereignly chose to set this love on His enemies.

The DEGREE of that love is seen in the price He paid for our redemption.
“He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God’s wrath had to be appeased.
God’s holiness had to be satisfied.

God loved us while we were His enemies,
But in order to pardon us, His holiness had to be propitiated.

Christ did that.
He came to this earth, He took on human flesh, He submitted Himself to the Law, He bore our sin, He received our punishment, He died on the cross, and He rose again.

This is the redeeming love of God.
This is the restoring love of God.

God’s love was not some mushy enabling sentimentality
That winks at sin and overlooks offense.

No, God’s love is real and genuine and weighty.
It is a love that chose sinners and then saved them.
It is a love that was extremely costly to Him.

And yet God loved us so much.

We remember then this atoning love of God.

To which John made his first point.
(11) “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

We love one another because atonement deserves it.
• Our brothers may not deserve it…
• But God does.
• We do it for Him.

LAST WEEK the second reason John would compel us to love one another.

Love One Another because:
#2 ASSURANCE DEPENDS ON IT
1 John 4:12-18

• Are you absolutely certain that you are a child of God?
• Are you absolutely certain that when you die you are going to heaven?
• Do you know that you have been redeemed?
• Do you know that you are in Christ and Christ is in you?

You can know those things.
In fact God would have you know those things.

And according to John there is no better proof of such things
Than when you live like Jesus in this world and love your brother.

(17) “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”

• How do you know if Jesus is in you?
• How do you know if you are in Him?

And the simple answer would be: WHEN YOU LIVE LIKE HE LIVED
Or perhaps more appropriately: WHEN YOU LOVE LIKE HE LOVED

And again, we are NOT talking about some sentimental tolerance of sinfulness. That was not the love of Christ.

• The Gospels are full of verses where Jesus exposed and confronted sin.
• The Gospels are full of verses where Jesus preached repentance.
• The Gospels are full of verses where Jesus demanded departure from idols.

If you think the love of Jesus is to wink at sin
Then you’ve not read the Gospels.

No, the love of Jesus was to do whatever it took to pull sinners out of sin.
• The love of Jesus was to confront sin…
• The love of Jesus was to expose sin…
• The love of Jesus was then to forgive sin…
• The love of Jesus was to atone for sin…

And John’s question would be:
DO YOU LOVE LIKE HE LOVED?

I’m not saying that any of us does that 24/7,
BUT DO YOU EVER LOVE LIKE HE LOVED?

If you do, it is because Christ is in you.
If you do, it is because the Holy Spirit is in you.

See, the Holy Spirit causes things to occur in our life.

1) BELIEVE “the love which God has for us” (16)
2) CONFESS “that Jesus is the Son of God” (15)
3) TESTIFY “that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (14)

And the testimony John refers to is the testimony of love.

It is when we love our brother as Jesus loved us
That the testimony of God’s work in our lives is perfected.
We then see evidence of the Holy Spirit in us,
And we know that we have been saved.

So when you love like Jesus.
When you walk as He walked…
• In that moment you can have assurance that you are redeemed for you wouldn’t love like that if Jesus weren’t in you.

But if you don’t love…
On what basis or fruit are you claiming to be redeemed?

So we should love one another.
Not only because atonement deserves it, but also because assurance depends on it.

Well THIS MORNING we close our study of this passage
By giving John’s 3rd compelling reason to love one another.

Love One Another because:
#3 AUTHENTICITY DEMANDS IT
1 John 4:19-21

In short, love one another because that’s what Christians do.

We could perhaps makes this point by moving no farther
Than the first two words of our text this morning:
(19) “We love”

Perhaps you are familiar with Paul’s letter to Timothy.
• Paul would set out to instruct this young pastor regarding the church at Ephesus.
• The immediate objective was to get that church back on track.
• They had grown preoccupied with the Law and with genealogies and other nonsense, and had gotten off track as to their calling and purpose.

Paul wrote:
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

What else are we trying to produce?

If the greatest commandment is to love God
And the second greatest is to love your neighbor
Then it is foolish for us to assume there is a higher goal.

This is the objective.
• Not only to make sinful people holy people…
• Not only to make dead people alive people…
• But to make selfish people loving people.

That is the final objective.
That is the ultimate goal.
THAT IS AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY

In fact, if one does not have love he is nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

LOVE IS THE DEFINING MARK.

When we fail to walk in the love of God in the world
We miss the very concept of what it means to be Christian.

• When we have no concern that sinners will go to hell in their sin…
• When we wink at those who set themselves up to be enemies of God…
• When we refuse to leave our comforts so that men might hear the gospel…
• When we are preoccupied with our reputation and not the eternal state of world
• When we would rather be loved by men than to tell them the truth…
• When we are fine with sinners being condemned…

How can we say that we are walking like Christ?
What is authentic about that?

Do you truly love anyone that is lost?
• Have you even told them that they are lost?
• Have you told them of their great danger?
• Have you told them how to be saved?
• Have you told them of forgiveness in Jesus?

It is a deceived and indeed a phony church
That thinks we are walking like Christ when we affirm sinners
And strive to make them feel comfortable in their sin.

Jesus’ love sought sinners and sought to pull them out of their sin.

• His whole life was about leaving comfort behind that He might find those who
were lost.
• He confronted their sin…
• He warned them of judgment…
• He offered them forgiveness…
• He ultimately laid down His life for their salvation…

Christ’s entire ministry can be summed up with the word love.

And Christians should be described in the same way.
John says, “We love”

Authentic Christianity demands that “we love”.

And this is the point of John here to conclude this marvelous section.

We’ll take this 3rd point and we’ll break it down a little further as well.
1) LOVE IS A MATTER OF OBSERVATION (19)

John says, “We love because He first loved us.”

On one hand we could keep this point PURELY THEOLOGICAL

And say that our love is the result of God’s work in our lives.
• We could say that through salvation God poured His Spirit into our lives and
thus caused us to love like He loves.

And that would certainly be true.
In fact that was the basis upon which
John promised assurance in the previous verses.

But John here is speaking far more practical than that.

John is speaking in terms of THE HUMAN RESPONSE.
John is talking about the fitting reaction
That we give to such great love by God.

It is God who “first loved us”

• This has been well-discussed.
• We didn’t initiate it, God did.
• We didn’t even ask for it, God willed it.

• God’s love toward us was not reactionary.
• His was determined, sovereign, perfect…

Our love however is reactionary.
“We love BECAUSE He first loved us”

THE POINT IS THAT when a person realizes and acknowledges and receives this great love of God, the response to it will be to love in return.

NOT ONLY to love God, which is easy,
BUT ALSO to love God’s children on God’s behalf.

And in this verse perhaps we have an EXPLANATION
As to why WE AT TIMES FAIL TO LOVE.

Could it be that our failure to love is because we have forgotten the great love which God has shown us?

PRIDE DOES THIS, BY THE WAY.
The more you value yourself,
The less amazed you’ll be at God’s love for you.

• The more arrogant you become, the less amazing God’s love becomes.
• It is actually possible to see God’s love for you as God’s fitting response to who
you are.

Why wouldn’t God love me?
I mean look at me.

PRIDE IS THE ENEMY OF LOVE.

This is why we say that loving one another is matter of observation.

It is observing the greatness of God’s love,
That He loved you when you were not worthy of love.

I know we have mentioned this many times lately,
But PERHAPS AN ILLUSTRATION is where we need to go next.

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 16

• Let me show you a picture of God’s love.
• It is lengthy, but it is necessary.

Let’s begin with OUR INTRINSIC WORTH
Just the simple value of a life.

(READ 1-5)

Now, I know in the church we argue and fight for the sanctity of life, but you do understand that in the world life has very little value.

• Whether it’s the “aborted baby” in America…
• Whether it’s the “throw away baby” in China…
• Whether it’s the “starving baby” in Africa…
• Whether it’s the “abused baby” …

And that is just children, but life has very little value in the world.

I know that when you are born, if you are fortunate, you are surrounded by a handful of family members that genuinely rejoice at your birth.

But trust me when I tell you 99.999999% of the other 7.5 billion people
COULD CARE LESS.

Humans don’t even matter to humans most of the time.

AND YOU SEE THAT HERE.
• This was a throw away baby.
• It represents Israel.
• By association it represents the church.

And then we see the first expression of God’s love.
God shows us a love that even the rest of humanity won’t show.

(READ 6-14)

It begins simply with God “SEEING” what others would not.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

• When the world turned a blind eye…
• When it was easier just not to look at the plight of humanity…
• God first demonstrated love by seeing you.

And it continues with God “SAVING” what others would not.

• God told this child to “Live”
• He spared this child.
• He saved this child.

Most of the world won’t do that, let alone what God did next.

The story moves forward with God “SELECTING” that child.

• God (8) “entered into a covenant…so that you became Mine”

That is tremendous love.
God has now married what no one else even cared if it lived.

Still God’s love moves forward by becoming a “SANCTIFYING” love.

• Just as Jesus washes His bride the church, so God washed this child whom He had loved.
• In verse 9 “I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.”

We must point out the obvious that He married her while she was filthy.
It wasn’t until after He entered into the covenant
That He began the process of washing her off.

BUT NOW, HE WASHES HER.

And still God’s love moves forward again by “SATISFYING” her.

• We saw those beautiful words in verses 10-14.
• Words like “clothed” and “wrapped” and “adorned”
• Until she became “exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty”

This child that no one wanted.
This child left to blister and die in the sun.
And yet God reached in and loved the unlovable.

That is what He has done for each of us.
But we’ve talked about that love many times over lately.

THE STORY ISN’T OVER.
For look at the gratitude that was given to God for this great love.

(READ 15-34)

And if you are honest, you know that passage fits.
• For even though God has loved us when we were unlovable.
• Even though He saw us and saved us and selected us and sanctified us and satisfied us, still we have so many times rebelled.
• How often we still sin.
• How often we forget.

And this sin would certainly bring about necessary discipline from God.
• She would have to be punished.
• Her sanctification would require that she walk through some hardship.
• And we won’t read it but verses 35-59 outline her coming punishment and the necessity of it.

But then, after a period of discipline, we see God’s love show up again.

This time it is a “STEADFAST” love.
It is a love that never fails.

(READ 60-63)

Are you aware of this love in your life?
• Have you forgotten not only the love which God has shown you?
• But also the love when God shows you continually?

Not only that God loved you when you were sinful,
But that God has loved you ever day since?

• That God has loved you even when you have been ungrateful.
• That God has loved you even when you have been unfaithful.
• That God has loved you when you have failed Him.

Perhaps this morning we need to again observe the love of God.

Because observing this love is what produces love in us.
It is much easier to love when we remember how loved we are.

A cold-hearted Christian
Has clearly forgotten how much he is loved.

Love is a matter of observation.
2) LOVE IS A MATTER OF OPPORTUNITY (20)

Where as verse 19 speaks of our MOTIVATION to love,
Verse 20 focuses on the APPLICATION of it.

HOW DO WE DO IT?
How do we love God in return for the great love He has shown us?

Surely it must be MORE THAN JUST AN EMOTION.
• God’s love was far more than emotional.
• God didn’t just feel love toward us and whisper it from heaven,
• God’s love is measurable.
• We have felt the effects of His love.
• He picked us up, He washed us off, He clothed us.

His love is seen and verifiable.
BUT HOW DO WE LOVE GOD IN RETURN?

• It’s not like you can wash God’s car?
• It’s not like you can cook God a meal?
• It’s not like you can give Him a present?

How do we show God love in return?
Where is our opportunity?

And this is what John points out.
(20) “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

That is a very strong statement from John.
Don’t go around claiming to love God if you hate God’s children.

“for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

What’s your point John?
Namely that your brother represents your opportunity to love God.

Right there in front of your face is your opportunity.

Do you want to love God?
Do you really want to show Him love?
Have you felt as though you lacked opportunity?

WELL THERE IT IS.
Sitting right next to you in the pew.
There is your chance.

We referenced it last week, but let’s read it again this morning.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 25:31-46

Could it be clearer than that?

And don’t miss the point.
We AREN’T saved for eternity by loving the least.

• Salvation is not granted to those who are benevolent.
• That would be salvation by works and that is not possible.

We are saved because we love and trust Christ.

But how do you know if someone loves and trusts Christ?
• Well, did they love His brothers?

And friends, if you’ll grasp this,
It will make practical ministry so much easier for you.

It is really hard in our world to show practical love
To people whom we don’t think deserve it.

And indeed many times they may not.

Well quit looking at them according to their human worth.
And start looking at them through Christ’s eyes.

If you measure people by how valuable they are to you,
You are likely to find very little,

But if you measure them by how valuable they are to Christ
It will change your valuation.

THIS PARABLE TEACHES US THAT JESUS IS WATCHING.
And He takes it personal.
He attributes our treatment of other believers to how we treat Him.

We remember when David became King.
He wanted to show to love to his deceased friend Jonathon.

How did David do it?
2 Samuel 9:3 “The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”

• That man’s name was Mephibosheth and David not only gave him an
inheritance but fed him daily at his own table.
• David wanted to love Jonathan and he found his opportunity.

Are you looking for opportunity to love Jesus?
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.

And this should not be new information.
Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Isaiah 1:13-17 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”

In Zechariah a delegation approached God in Jerusalem to ask if they should keep fasting in the fifth month like they had been doing.
Zechariah 7:8-10 “Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’”

Isaiah had a similar sermon to others who were fasting:
Isaiah 58:5-7 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD? “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

God has been telling you how to love Him hasn’t He?
The opportunity is everywhere.

And if we don’t seize that opportunity
It is foolish to go around claiming we love God.

Authentic Christianity loves God by loving His people.

So we talk about loving one another and we see that it is a matter of observation and it is a matter of opportunity.

3) LOVE IS A MATTER OF OBEDIENCE (21)

Again, the words are clear.
“And this is the commandment we have from Him…”

Did not our Lord command it?
• Certainly He has demonstrated it…
• Certainly He has deserved it…
• But He has also demanded it…

Now it is no longer a matter of observation or of opportunity.
It is simply a matter of whether we will obey the commands of our Lord.

Watch Him in the upper room.
• Watch Him get up from the table…
• Watch Him lay aside His garments…
• Watch Him gird Himself with a towel…
• Watch Him begin to wash the disciples feet…

There sat Matthew, the unworthy tax collector who got rich by cheating his own countrymen.

There sat James and John, the men who only seemed concerned about getting the best seats in the kingdom; even asking for their mother’s help.

There sat Thomas, the pessimist who just knew things were always going to go south; the one who wouldn’t even believe Jesus rose from the dead.

There sat Simon the Zealot, the terrorist who used to try and assassinate Romans.

There sat Peter, the big talking coward who would soon deny 3 times.

There sat Judas, the traitor, who was about to sell Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver.

And here is Jesus washing their feet.
(sanctifying like God did to that little baby)

And then saying:
John 13:12-15 “So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

And then saying again later:
John 13:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

Is that not the same thing we read in Matthew’s gospel?

And again:
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

And again:
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

And again:
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Could any of the disciples leave that room that night and not realize what Jesus wanted from them?

JOHN CERTAINLY FIGURED IT OUT
And he has dedicated his epistle to making sure you see it too.

This is what it means to be an authentic Christian.
And you cannot claim to be authentic without it.

You and I can go out into the world all day long and claim to be Christians.
• We can fill Facebook with religious posts…
• We can cover our car with Christian symbols…
• We can wear Christian T-shirts…
• We can attend Bible studies…
• We can have daily quiet times…

You can participate in mission trips, sing in the choir, preach sermons, and do whatever else you deem as Christian behavior.

But if you don’t love your brother there is nothing authentic about you.

“We love”
We love God and we show Him that love by loving His children.

So there you have John’s compelling reasons for loving one another.

Atonement Deserves It – God is not asking you to do anything that He has not first done for you.

Assurance Depends on It – You will know you are a child of God when you love.

Authenticity Demands It – It’s not just about feeling real, it’s about being real.

So let me close up this passage simply by encouraging you
To seize one of those plentiful opportunities around you.

Go love Christ this week in a real and practical way.
“For when you do it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you do it unto Me”

D-NOW IS IN THE BOOKS!

 

SERMONS

Saturday Morning Sermon: Righteousness Required (Matthew 5:20)

Download Here

Saturday evening sermon: Perfect As Your Father Is Perfect (Matthew 5:48)

Download Here

Sunday morning sermon: Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:25-34)

Download Here

Sunday afternoon sermon: Final Words On The Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 7:13-27)

Download Here

Download Here:

Anticipating Worship: The Blessing of Unity
Psalms 133
July 17, 2022

Tonight we come to a short Psalm in this group of songs which were sung during the approach of Jerusalem, and yet it is a widely known one.

People seem to remember, at the very least, verse 1
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!”

UNITY is one of those attributes that
Everyone always seems to agree on as a good thing.

It is like “love”.
• You don’t ever find anyone saying love is a bad thing.
• You don’t ever find anyone saying unity is a bad thing.

Everyone seems to agree that
Unity makes for a better climate and a better culture.

• Now, just as they do with love,
• People often misunderstand and wrongly define what unity actually is
• And they fail to realize how it is achieved,

But on a surface level they still admire it.

And this Psalm certainly anticipates it.

And since this is one of those “Song of Ascents”
We realize that the unity spoken of here is in the context of worship.

So let’s make A GENERAL OBSERVATION from the start.

What we are talking about here is unity, not uniformity.
• We are not discussing people who are clones of one another,
• But rather of people who share a common bond.
• They may be very different in many ways,
• But they share a common bond which links them together.

When we are talking about unity we are talking about
Different people with different attributes all becoming one.

Israel was a great example of this.
• They were certainly unique and different people
• With different skills and preferences and interests.
• They lived in different regions and worked at different occupations.

And yet they shared a oneness as “the people of God”.
They had common promises…
They had common benefits…
They had common requirements…
They had a common covenant…

They had that one very important thing in common.
They were one as God’s people.

Unity wasn’t simply about getting along,
It was about understanding that we are one.

David is contemplating this blessing here at the outset.

“Behold, how good…”

“good” there is TOB

• It’s a special and powerful word in the Old Testament.
• It is certainly not used lightly.

Genesis 1:4 “God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

• It is the word God used of His creation prior to the fall.
• Sin came in and wrecked it all, but before sin it was good.

David uses that same word here to describe the nature of unity.
It is good.

He also says “how pleasant”

NAWEEM in the Hebrew.
It can be translated “sweet” or “lovely” or “pleasures”

It refers to that which is attractive and enjoyable to humanity.
It’s not bitter or ugly or a burden, it is something which is enjoyable.

So David says that unity is a good thing.
It is a pleasurable thing.

As we said at the beginning,
You don’t find anyone who doesn’t at least like the thought of unity.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

The very word “brothers” implies a family.
A common family bond.

“dwell together” is an important term.
It is a family that is granted the privilege of being around one another.

How wonderful it is to able to be around people
Who share a common bond with you!

Imagine the Israelites, surrounded by Canaanites and Jebusites and Ammonites and Moabites and Termites and everything else.

But in their pocket of the world, they had a common bond.
• They were the children of God.
• They dwelled together.
• They worshiped together.

It was a respite to be shielded from the pagan thought of the world.

We understand that in the church.
It is our one place of relief and our sanctuary.

• When we gather in here worldliness is not promoted.
• When we gather in here immorality is not praised.
• When we gather in here evil is not celebrated or congratulated.

We share a common bond as the people of God.
• Here we let down our guard.
• Here we freely love.
• Here we fellowship and laugh and rejoice.
• Here we worship.
• We turn our kids loose to run the halls.
• We gather and visit.

It is both “good” and “pleasant” to come and dwell together.

How awful To have been in Jeremiah’s shoes who seemed to be the only believer left in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 12:6 “For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”

How awful to have been in Elijah’s shoes, who said:
1 Kings 19:14 “Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Or Lot in Sodom “oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men” feeling “his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds.”

Or Paul alone in Athens having “his spirit provoked within him” as he walked through a “city full of idols”.

Or new converts in Islamic lands who must feel alone.

What a blessing when you can come together with people
Who share the common distinction as the people of God.

THAT IS WHAT THIS SONG CELEBRATES.
It’s just a really good thing to get to go to church!

And as we read this Psalm,
David describes the blessing with two metaphors.

(2) “It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.”

And the second is:
(3) “It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;”

So the FIRST one we see is a reference to oil on the head.

In one sense oil represents JOY and GLADNESS. It is refreshing.
• You may remember how the Good Samaritan poured oil and wine into the
wounds of the man who had been robbed.

In another sense oil represents FRAGRANCE and BEAUTY.
• We think of that woman and her alabaster vile which she poured on Jesus feet
and how the fragrance filled the room.

And in yet another sense it represents CONSECRATION.
• The priests were anointed with oil.
• They were actually sprinkled with this consecrated oil.

David however references “Aaron” because Moses didn’t sprinkle Aaron, Moses poured the oil on him.
• It ran down his head.
• It ran across his beard.
• It ran into his collar.

And that probably makes some of you think of a gross Disciple Now game.
It would absolutely make my wife cringe to think about someone doing that to her.

But the visual is clear.

The SECOND analogy is the same picture.
This time it’s not oil but rather water.

It is “the dew of Hermon” which is now running down to Zion.

So you get these pictures of something poured and something covering.
But let’s make sure you understand
What these metaphors are talking about.

THE TEMPTATION IS
To read verses 2 and 3 and assume that he is talking about unity.
• As if to say that UNITY “is like the precious oil upon the head…”
• And that UNITY “is like the dew of Hermon…”

But that is NOT what he is saying.

There is a word here that the Psalmist repeats 3 times
And it is the key to understanding what is so wonderful here.

It is the Hebrew word YAW-RAD and it means “to descend”
In my translation it is translated “coming down”

It is an important word to recognize in the Psalm
Because in using this word David is making sure
That you are aware of THE SOURCE.

We read those verses and we ask 2 questions.
1) WHAT IS COMING DOWN? (not unity) Blessing
2) WHERE IS IT COMING FROM? God

The unity that David rejoices in is the effect or the consequence
Of God choosing to bless His people.

You see this at the end of verse 3.
“For there the LORD commanded the blessing – life forever.”

There the blessing is specifically described.
David calls it “life forever”

And this eternal life which David speaks of
Is the common thing which we all share and that unifies us.

SEE,
• This unity we have is NOT a human engineered unity.
• This unity is NOT something that we achieve.
• That again is uniformity.
• That is peace and tolerance.

That is certainly a good thing, but when we talk about unity
We are talking about something that only comes from God.

It is that which must descend upon us.

THAT IS WHY
In the New Testament Paul doesn’t tell us to unify, he tells us to preserve unity.

Ephesians 4:1-6 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

• Paul didn’t tell us to unify.
• Certainly he told the Corinthians to get along and to not have disagreements.
• That is different than unity.

We understand commands to forgive and to live at peace
And to show tolerance for another in love.

We get those commands.

But those commands are not a command for unity.
Those commands are there to preserve the unity.
Unity is not something we achieve, it is something we preserve.

Unity is that which comes down to us from God.

TURN TO: JOHN 17
• This is the great High Priestly prayer of Jesus.
• And notice what He is praying for.

(READ 20-23)

Many people read that verse and say, “See, Jesus prayed that we’d all get along, and so we need to set aside what divides us and we need to all get along.”

That is a terrible misunderstanding of what Jesus is praying for.

John MacArthur had a very helpful explanation of what we are talking about here.
“Now I want to stop at that point and just explain to you that Jesus is not wishing that everybody who becomes a Christian would get along well with everybody else. This is not a…this is not a wish that Jesus wanted to have happen, ask the Father if He could pull it off only to find out that His prayer wasn’t answered. Jesus doesn’t [pray] prayers that don’t get answered since He has the mind of God. So if Jesus prayed for oneness, you can know this for certain, it came to pass. It is a reality, not a wish. And He’s talking about a kind of oneness that you must understand. He is talking about something that has to do with the very life of God because He says here that they may all be one…how?…even as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee. We’re talking about a oneness of common eternal life, something that somehow approximates the real essential unity between the Father and the Son. He’s praying for a unity that is not about how we get along on the surface, but how we are made one internally. He’s talking about sharing common life, the life of God in the soul of men.
In verse 23 He says it again. “I in them and Thou in Me that they may be perfected in unity.” It’s not a question of “are we all getting along fine on the surface, are we all buddy- buddy, are we all holding hands and swaying back and forth and singing the same song.” It’s not that. We’re talking about something here that is supernatural. This prayer that Jesus prayed was a prayer for all those who came to Him to be given the same eternal life, to possess the same life of God in their souls, to become partakers of the divine nature, to have the indwelling of the very presence of the Spirit of God. He was praying that which is stated as reality in 1 Corinthians where Paul says, “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Paul said essentially the same thing when he said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives…what?…within me.”
When you became a Christian God, the eternal God, took up residence in your life. And that’s true of every believer. When you came to Christ you became one with Him. And every believer is one with Him. And since we all share His common life, we share the same life with each other.”
Sermon on gty.com “Fundamental Christian Attitudes: Unity” Scripture: Selected Scriptures Code: 90-118

This is what Jesus is talking about, and this is what David is rejoicing in.

That God has done something supernatural in each of us.
He gave us all a common life.

Read it again in verse 3 “For there the LORD commanded the blessing – life forever.”

Jesus spoke of it through the agent of the Holy Spirit
Who would come and indwell every believer.

We would all get the same common life.
• We WOULD NOT all look the same or talk the same or even share all the same preferences.
• We would even be gifted differently
• Some would preach, some would lead, some would give, some would have mercy.
• We would serve as various parts of the same body.
• But there would be one common bond that would knit us all together.
• We would all share the common life of God within ourselves.

It would be that which would distinguish us from the world.

AND THIS IS THE BASIS FOR OUR UNITY.

I had a lady one time come and tell me
That if I wanted to learn unity then I should attend a graduation at Texas A&M.

• We all know how committed Aggies are to one another.
• Aggies hire Aggies. They are dedicated to it.

But that’s NOT spiritual unity.
• That’s a man-made commitment to people who have a common interest.
• They graduated from the same school.
• And they have chosen to rally around that common interest.

CHRISTIAN UNITY IS FAR DEEPER THAN THAT.
Christian unity is not man-made, it come down to us from God.

You know this.
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 2:11-22

Paul begins by pointing out our lack of common interest.
• We had absolutely nothing that would have caused us to dwell in the same room with one another.

(READ 11-12)

You don’t get any more opposite than Jew and Gentile.
• Circumcision VS Uncircumcision
• Included VS Excluded
• Covenants VS No Covenants
• Hope VS No Hope
• God VS No God

These two groups were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

And then we read:
(READ 13-16)

Paul says that Jesus came and brought near those who were far off.

HOW?
He “broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity”

WHAT WAS THE DIVIDING WALL?
“the Law of commandments contained in ordinances”

• The Law is the great divider.
• It not only condemns men and separates them from God, but it also separates men from men.
• The reason Jews and Gentiles were separate was the Law.

Jesus came and fulfilled it for both Jew and Gentile.
In Jesus there is no longer a person who has not fulfilled the Law.
Jesus fulfilled it for Jew and Gentile alike.

He made “the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.”

Now Jews and Gentiles in Jesus have the exact same life within them.
It is the life which Jesus put inside of them.

And he reconciled “them both in one body to God through the cross”

Do you understand the point here?
• Jews and Gentiles now have a common bond.
• They both stand approved before God only because of what Jesus did.

That is Christian unity.
We look around the room and realize that
• In spite of all our differences…
• In spite of our various levels of morality…
• In spite of our past records of failure…
• In spite of the level of our mistakes…

We all share the common bond that we stand approved by God
Only because of what Jesus did.

• None of us are more or less approved by God than the other.
• None of us are more or less worthy than the other.
• None of us draw closer than the other.

We all come the same way and this is a common bond.

(READ 17-18)

That is what we are saying.
All of us come the exact same way.

And the final reality?
(READ 19-22)

There is our unity.
• We all stand on the apostles and prophets…
• Jesus is the cornerstone for us all…
• We are all God’s building…
• We are all God’s temple…

Do you notice how he uses both Jewish terms and Gentile ones?
And it doesn’t matter for “you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

THAT IS UNITY.
• We have the common life of Christ.
• We have the common righteousness of Christ.
• We have the common atonement of Christ.

Listen to Paul to the Galatians:
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

Do you see it?
• While certainly there is a difference between Jews and Gentiles.
• While certainly there is a difference between slaves and free men.
• While certainly there is a difference between men and women.

We still see that we share a unity in that we all need Jesus.
And in Jesus we are all “heirs according to promise.”

AND THIS IS THE UNITY WE CELEBRATE.
We don’t fellowship with anyone like we fellowship with one another.

• You can be an Aggie and go to an Aggie reunion and there will be people there who will absolutely offend you and with whom you will have no fellowship.

• You can actually go to Thanksgiving with your genetic relatives and have no fellowship or joy around the table.

Jesus actually said it:
Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”

There can be no fellowship among even those people.

But the unity we enjoy is that which comes down from heaven.

And this is the unity David is rejoicing in.
• I might not get along with my brothers…
• Absalom may be a black sheep about to cause trouble…
• I may have no joy in hanging around other shepherds…

But when I gather with God’s people…
• When I gather with those who share the common life of God…
• That is “good” and that is “pleasant”

This is what the writer of Hebrews
Wanted those struggling Jews to understand.
• They were lamenting being cut off from the temple.
• They were saddened at being excommunicated from the synagogue.
• They would no longer have access to the feasts and the ceremonies.

They were like Aggies who were no longer welcome at the Aggie bonfire
And they thought the grief would be overwhelming.

But listen to what the writer of Hebrew told them:
Hebrews 12:18-24 “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

You see that first reference to Mt. Sinai
Where physical Israel found their identity.
• They got the Law and that is what they rallied around.

But notice what the writer says:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

The common bond you share is much deeper and real
Than some bond of traditional feasts and celebrations.

• The bond you share is with the heavenly Zion…
• The bond you share is with the city of the living God…
• The bond you share is with angels…
• The bond you share is with the church of the firstborn…in heaven…
• The bond you share is with the Judge of all
• The bond you share is with the righteous who are made perfect…
• The bond you share is with Jesus…

This is a deeper and better
And more glorious unity than anything the world offers.
WE SHARE A COMMON LIFE FROM GOD.

That is what makes going to church so awesome!
• It’s not about powerful music from skilled musicians (as good as that is)
• It’s not about skilled speakers who are good to listen to (as much as you would like to have one of those)
• It’s not about beautiful buildings or comfortable seats (as thankful as we are for them)

The blessing and joy of this place is that it is filled with
People who share the common bond of the life of God.

And this life descended upon us.
“It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;”

God sent his down on us and this is what makes us one.
This is our unity.

When you look around this room
• You see people who have the same Spirit you have.
• You see people who have the same righteousness you have.
• You see people who received the same forgiveness you received.

This is our common bond,
And that is what makes corporate worship so wonderful.

• We are a family.
• We are the people of God.
• We share His life.

THE PRESENCE OF THE CONGREGATION
IS A GIFT FROM GOD THAT WE ENJOY!!!

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!”

And the emphasis is on that “dwell together” part.
• Thank God there are other believers that we can live with.
• Thank God there are other believers we can dwell with.
• Thank God we are not alone in this wicked world.

And you see why this song was added to this group of hymns.
You can see how this song leads you to anticipate worship.

All I know to say to such a marvelous truth is: GO TO CHURCH.
Maybe the music could be better…
Maybe the preaching could be better…
Maybe there’s things you don’t like…

Then walk in love…
Walk in forgiveness…
Pray for your music and your pastor…

But get away from the world and go dwell together
With other people who share your common life.
That is good and that is pleasant.

HAVING A CHURCH BODY IS A GIFT FROM GOD!!!